Cadalyst - November/December 2008 - (Page 24)

cadalystlabsreview plenty of room for expansion, earning the Lenovo S10 an A+ grade in this category. The 64-bit version of Microsoft Vista Business with Service Pack 1 was preinstalled on the Lenovo S10, as were NVIDIA performance drivers v7.15.11.6996 (dated May 26, 2008) to drive the NVIDIA Quadro FX 1700 graphics card. The FX 1700 features 512 MB of integrated RAM and is a good mid-range graphics card — not the fastest card in the NVIDIA lineup but a good performer at a reasonable price and a good choice for a budget-minded system. The first test was the Cadalyst C2008 v5.1 benchmark running under the 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2009. The first of the three segments of this benchmark test ran with the native AutoCAD Direct3D drivers, and the S10 produced a C2008 total index score of 232. Using the NVIDIA performance driver for AutoCAD 2009, the C2008 total index score jumped to 340. Finally, I ran two concurrent side-byside sessions of AutoCAD 2009 with each running a separate version of the Cadalyst C2008 benchmark. The Lenovo S10 produced a combined C2008 score of 471 in 27 minutes. The next task for the Lenovo S10 was the MAXBench 4 benchmark running under the 64-bit version of Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009. With 3ds Max’s native OpenGL drivers, the system produced an averaged high/low score of 53.09. With 3ds Max Design 2009’s native Direct3D drivers, the combined average high/low score was 74.99. With the NVIDIA accelerated drivers (MAXtreme), the test produced a combined high/low score of 113.92. Then I ran the full 64-bit version of SPECviewperf 10 at a resolution of 1,280 x 1,024, producing these scores: 36.26 for 3dsmax-04, 42.70 for catia-02, 27.36 for ensight-03, 104.98 for maya-02, 40.11 for proe-04, 64.55 for sw-01, 17.37 for tcvis-01, and 18.60 for ugnx-01. Priced at $1,896, this Lenovo S10 is one of the two 64-bit workstations in this roundup priced at less than $2,000. Warranty coverage for the system is three years for parts and labor with limited on-site service coverage. PolyStation P4500A Polywell Computers produces a broad range of systems, from desktop PCs to RISC-based workstations and cluster servers for various uses. Polywell also makes CAD workstations such as the PolyStation P4500A, which it submitted for this review. The PolyStation P4500A Cadalyst received was based on an Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 dual-core processor, running at its native 3.16 GHz. The processor was mounted on an ASUS P5Q motherboard that uses the Intel P45 Express chipset and features a front-side bus speed of 1,333 MHz. This particular model is not overclocked; for those who want this capability, Polywell offers the PolyStation X4800. As requested, the PolyStation P4500A arrived with 4 GB of 1,066-MHz DDR2 RAM installed, out of a possible 16 GB when fully populated. Two 300-GB Western Digital SATA-II Polywell Computers 800.900.583 www.polywell.com Price: $2,499 24 10,000-rpm hard drives were included in the system, as well as a Lite-On 20X optical drive. The PolyStation P4500A is housed in a compact 18.2” x 8” x 19.3” case that features a large ventilation fan on a removable side panel. The case features an access panel at the top front of the system, with a cover that flips up to provide access to two USB 2.x connectors, an e-SATA connector, and headphone and microphone jacks, in addition to the power switch and the reset button. The system was generally quiet, with the primary noise coming from the optical drive when it was actively reading an optical disk. The PolyStation P4500A earned an A+ grade for expandability, with its 10 drive bays, 6 USB 2. x connectors, a FireWire connector, and an e-SATA connector. The system includes a moderately beefy SPI 600-W power supply to drive expansion. Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate x64 with Service Pack 1 was preinstalled on the The PolyStation P4500A packs a lot into its system, as were compact 18.2” x 8” x 19.3” case. NVIDIA drivers 7.15.11.6996 (dated May 26, 2008) for the NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 that provided speedy graphics. The FX 3700 is a PCIe2 graphics card that features 512 MB of integrated DDR3. Windows Vista Ultimate and the Quadro FX 3700 are pricey choices for an economical workstation, but the system as configured squeezed in just below our $2,500 price limit. I launched into testing the PolyStation P4500A using v5.1 of the Cadalyst C2008 benchmark running under the 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2009. With AutoCAD’s native Direct3D drivers, the system produced a C2008 total index score of 285. When I switched to the NVIDIA Performance drivers for AutoCAD, the C2008 total index score jumped to 422. Lastly, I ran concurrent sessions of AutoCAD 2009 x64 with separate copies of the Cadalyst C2008 benchmark, producing a combined total index score of 653 in 27 minutes. Next came the MAXBench 4 benchmark running under the 64-bit version of Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2009. First, I used 3ds Max’s native OpenGL drivers and generated an averaged high/low score of 62.52. I switched to 3ds Max’s native Direct3D drivers, and the averaged high/low score was boosted to 99.95. Finally, I ran MAXBench 4 with the NVIDIA performance drivers for 3ds Max Design 2009, which produced an averaged high/low score of 150.27. www.cadalyst.com cadalyst November/December 2008 http://www.polywell.com http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - November 2008

Cadalyst - November 2008 Contents Editor's Window CAD Central Tech Trends: Designed after Our Own Image Budget-Conscious Workstations — 64-Bit CAD Power for Less than $2,500 Cadalyst All-Star Awards 2008 SolidWorks 2009 — 3D MCAD Software IES Virtual Environment 5.9 — Building Performance Analysis Software View Point: A Design with Teeth CAD Manager: CAD Manager’s Survey 2008 MCAD Modeling: Ask for What You Want AEC Insight: AEC Software by the Clock CAD Cartoon Issue Indexes Hot Tip Harry: Hot Tips for Cold Days

Cadalyst - November 2008

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